Stop These Voices
by Happyboby the Author
Summary: The big summary is inside. Breakdown:: Love, hate, confusion, violence, redemption, darkness, pain. . .and schitzophrenia. Takes place at the beggining of book 7 and branches off. R&R plz!
1. A Not So Merry Christmas

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina, it's characters, places, or plots. I am not making profit from this fiction, merely just expressing my imagination off this manga, which is the property of Ken Akamatsu and TokyoPop.  
  
A/N: This fic starts right at the beginning of the 7th book on "Little Lost Sheep on Holy Night". It's a branch off from the plot or whatever you call that thingy where it does stuff. I basically quoted the beginning of book 7, which was the conversation between Keitaro, Naru, and Mutsumi, before Naru ran away from Keitaro. Pardon me if it seems OOC or just plain wrong but deal with it, I need to get some of my imagination out before my head explodes in a giant fireball. And yes, the title is lame :P I dunt care.  
  
:::Sumarry::: When a freak accident on Christmas Eve leaves Naru in the hospital unconscious and Keitaro and the rest of the Hinata girls worried out of their minds, something snaps inside of Naru's brain. When finally released from the hospital, Naru seems fine from the outside, but inside her mind, there's an endless torment of voices. Naru isolates herself from the rest of the Hinata residents and slowly withdrawals into the back of her mind, trying to escape from her schizophrenia. She wants to tell Keitaro how she feels, but fears that he won't love her, and the voices inside her head don't help. What Naru fails to realize, is that the more and more she withdrawals, running away from Keitaro, the more she hurts him, because Keitaro still believes it's all his fault. Can Keitaro help the girl he loves, or will he have to move on? Can Naru escape the voices long enough to confess to Keitaro her true feelings for him. And what of the other girls? How does Naru's sudden swing for the worst affect them . . . read and find out!  
  
Stop These Voices . . .  
  
Chapter 1: A Not-So-Merry-Christmas  
  
A girl stood in front of her two friends, hiding her eyes beneath her auburn hair as she looked at the ground. The dark haired boy and girl stood next to each other, facing her, a mild look of confusion on both faces. The auburn haired girl finally spoke up after a pause.  
  
"Because you two . . . Are the ones who made the promise to each other." Naru said, her bangs blocking her eyes from Keitaro's.  
  
"What?" a rather clueless Mutsumi responded, while Keitaro took it differently.  
  
"N-N-N-Naru!?" He said, in a state of shock.  
  
"I'm really happy for you Keitaro. . .You've finally found the girl from your memory and she still has her heart set on Tokyo University." Naru continued, hiding her eyes behind her hair. She didn't want to look at Keitaro; she didn't want to see his eyes. All she wanted was Keitaro out of her head.  
  
"Hey, Hold on! What are you saying!?" Keitaro shouted at her, "Huh?" Naru looked up at Keitaro with tears streaming down her cheeks. That's when she turned around and ran.  
  
"Hey, wait, NARU!!!" Keitaro started off after her.  
  
"Goodbye, Keitaro!!!" And slowly Naru's form became lost in the falling snow.  
Naru ran. As fast as she could, she just needed to be away from Keitaro and Mitsumi. Tears streamed from her eyes while she ran.  
  
'I can't believe I said goodbye to Keitaro. . .I shouldn't have said goodbye! Ugh! What am I thinking, it's for the best.' Naru thought, as the sound of Keitaro's footsteps immediately stopped.  
  
"Naru." was one of the last things she heard from Keitaro that night. Naru kept running, and she didn't know why anymore.  
  
'I can't stop thinking about Keitaro now. How could I be so stupid . . . I should turn back and . . . . And tell him how I feel.' Naru slowed down, not realizing where she was in town.  
  
"HEY NARU!" Came Keitaro's shout from behind her. Unfortunately, when she turned around, all she saw were the headlights of a car. Things went by in a blur. First, Naru felt searing pain throughout her body when she was struck by the car. Tumbling over the hood and off the trunk, Naru landed in the soft snow, and that's when her world went black. The car that struck her just sped up, and drove off into the night.  
  
"Oh god! NARU!" Keitaro ran over to where Naru lay on the ground and knelt beside her, Mitsumi behind him.  
  
"Oh . . . my. . ." was all Mitsumi said.  
  
"Mitsumi, call an ambulance!" Keitaro yelled at her. Keitaro was scared and worried. He wanted to move Naru out from the middle of the street, but he wasn't sure if it was safe to move her. Keitaro put his coat over the unconscious Naru and checked her pulse. To his relief, she had one, but it was faint, and her skin was getting very, very cold. Many of the pedestrians who saw the accident gathered around Keitaro.  
  
"Naru. . .I'm sorry, it's all my fault. I should have stopped you sooner, I should have never kissed Mutsumi. God why must this happen to me!" He whispered to the unconscious Naru, "It should have been me getting hit by that car . . ." Mutsumi shoved her way through the crowd to Keitaro.  
  
"The ambulance should be here shortly. . .oh my, what a crowd this has drawn." Mutsumi said, glancing around at all the shocked, concerned, and saddened faces.  
  
Crowd dispersed almost immediately when the screams of the ambulance sirens blared down the street. The ambulance pulled up next to them and two paramedics came out and hastily started shooting questions at Mutsumi and Keitaro while tending to Naru.  
  
"How long ago was she hit?" The first paramedic out.  
  
"A. . .about five minutes ago." Keitaro said worriedly.  
  
"How fast was the car that hit her? You get the license plate?" The other asked while the first gently placed Naru on a stretcher.  
  
"I don't know, forty I can't tell? And I couldn't see the license plate. . .I'm sorry!" Keitaro almost broke down.  
  
"It's okay, if you want, you and the other girl can come with us to keep an eye on your friend."  
  
Keitaro hastily agreed and Mutsumi absent mindedly nodded as they both hopped into the back of the ambulance. One paramedic monitored Naru while Keitaro pleaded that Naru would be okay.  
  
"You know. . .I've never really been in an ambulance before." Mutsumi said out of the blue.  
  
"Well, hopefully you won't have to be in one again." The paramedic said while keeping tabs on Naru's pulse. Something inside Keitaro clicked on. He didn't know what it was, but for some reason, it urged him to hold Naru's hand. Slowly and unsurely, he took Naru's left hand and placed his other over hers.  
  
'Her hands are so cold. . .I really hope she's okay, I wouldn't know what I'd do if she . . . NO! Keitaro you shouldn't think like that!' he stared into Naru's face. Her beautiful, goddess face that was marred by the expression of absolute pain. Keitro only wished then that he could share Naru's pain. In fact, he'd gladly take all of the pain from her, as long as that expression didn't mar her face. Keitaro tightened his grip on her hand and refused to let go, even when they had reached the hospital.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
Blackness. Naru was out like a rock, but her subconscious was still alive and kicking.  
  
"Worthless. You're worthless. Even that pervert Keitaro took Mutsumi over you!" A dark voice yelled out in her mind.  
  
"Yeah, you might as well be dead! You even said goodbye to him! What timing to die!" another voice said.  
  
Naru just wanted to clasp her hands over her ears, the voices were unrelenting. The subconscious form of Naru slumped to her knees and she covered her ears, sobbing.  
  
"You missed your chance! You could have had Keitaro, but no! You had to blow your entire relationship away just because of the twit girl Mutsumi and your quick conclusions!"  
  
"I don't see what Keitaro saw in you! All you did was beat on him and beat on him over and over! He'd probably be better off without you!" Subconscious Naru snapped with the last comment.  
  
"Shut up. . ." she said quietly  
  
"Aww, what's the matter now, to afraid to see the truth!?"  
  
"Shut up." Again, only louder.  
  
"You missed your big chance. You could have gone all the way, but you ran, you ran all the way to your death."  
  
"SHUT UP" Subconscious Naru jumped up and ran off, hands still over her ears. She was all out crying then.  
  
'No, it's not true! I love Keitaro! I'm just not ready. . .' she thought, only to get a mental backlash in response.  
  
"Then why didn't you tell him! He would have taken you over Mutsumi as the promise girl! But you jumped to conclusions and ran off saying 'Goodbye Keitaro'. You screwed yourself over big time."  
  
Images ran through her head. Most of them were Keitaro. She saw the fear in his eyes when she was about to strike him. She saw the affection in his eyes when he smiled at her. The concern and sadness when she cried. . . Then pictures of her friends, Mitsune, Motoko, Su, Shinobu, Haruka, Mutsumi. . .everyone's image running by in her head. Suddenly the black was gone, and replaced by a room. It was white with several chairs and beds. Naru glanced around, confused. Then it hit her, she was in the hospital.  
  
"What am I doing here. . .?" She said out loud as a nurse passed her, "Um, ma'am?" Naru said while walking after the nurse, but she got no response. She followed the nurse to the back of the room, behind a curtain. What she saw almost gave her a heart attack. Naru saw all her friends from Hinata House sitting next to her. The funny thing was, she was in the bed, yet she was standing right there looking at herself.  
  
"Too weird." She said out loud. She looked at everyone's expressions. Each and every one of them was concerned, but one stood out. It's was Keitaro, and it looked like he was on the verge of tears. Her right hand felt warm for some reason. Naru was starting to get scared.  
  
"Am I dead. . .? This is an out of body experience I think, but am I dead?" she said to herself once more. She looked at Keitaro once more, and saw his lips moving, as well as both of his hands on her right hand. Naru moved in closer until she was right next to him, her ear near his mouth.  
  
"Naru, I'm sorry. . .I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for kissing Mutsumi, I'm sorry for making you angry, I'm sorry for making you cry. . .Just wake up, please wake up. Wake up. . ." A few tears streaked down Keitaro's face as he whispered that to the unconscious Naru. The 'subconscious spectral' Naru tried to wipe the tear off Keitaro's face, but to no avail. She sighed and looked back at her body, then to a small clipboard near her bed. She read –  
  
'Narusuwaga – Naru, age 18 Sex – Female Blood type – A . . .'  
  
Naru kept reading over her information until she got to the sheet next to the one that she was just reading.  
  
'Injuries sustained from a hit-and-run car accident as follows: -Three broken ribs. -Fractured arm, two places. -Dislocated shoulder -Broken kneecap -Back injury – not serious -Minimal head injury -Many bruises -Lung injury from broken rib – minimal, no need for operation -Unconsciousness -Several torn muscles, mostly leg region.  
  
She turned back to Keitaro and the rest of her friends. Everyone was silent except for Keitaro, muttering apologies under his breath and praying for her to wake up.  
  
"Keitaro . . ." Mitsune was the first to break the silence, "The doctor said she'd be fine, she's just going to be here for a while." Mitsune placed a hand on his shoulder and Keitaro just gripped Naru's hand more.  
  
"Urashima . . ." Mutsumi said softly, gripping Liddo-Kun, "Urashima, maybe you should stay here, keep her company, we could all come back tomorrow." Keitaro turned his head towards Mutsumi, his eyes red and puffed from crying over Naru.  
  
"Crybaby. . ." Sarah said, causing Motoko, Mutsumi, and Mitsune to glare at her.  
  
"Yeah, maybe we should leave him here. . ." Mitsune said, tapping her chin.  
  
"Yes, everyone should go back to the Hinata house, we'll visit tomorrow." Haruka's voice came from behind everyone. She had a cigarette in her mouth, but it wasn't lit, it looked like she was chewing on it.  
  
"Aunt Haruka?" Keitaro said, looking at his aunt, only to receive a blow to the head.  
  
"What'd I tell you about callin' me 'aunt'?" She said.  
  
"Sorry Haruka, I'm, just not thinking straight. . ." Keitaro lowered his gaze back to Naru.  
  
"Since when is HE ever thinking straight." Sarah muttered to Su.  
  
"We should leave these two to have some alone time, don't you do anything perverted, ya' hear Keitaro?" Mitsune said, pointing a finger at him.  
  
"Yes, if you do, you shall face unspeakable pain." Motoko responded, jabbing a finger at him. She would have used her katana, if she was allowed to carry it in a hospital.  
  
"S-S-Sempai, will you be okay without us?" Shinobu asked, with a small, nanoscopic hint of jealousy in her voice.  
  
"Urashima, don't squeeze her hand to hard, you might break it." Mutsumi said with a smile. Then she took Keitaro's hand off Naru's ( it took some effort ) and put Liddo-Kun in his hands.  
  
"Give it to Naru when she wakes up, okay?"  
  
Keitaro bowed his head down and placed it next to Naru.  
  
"Thanks, Mutsumi, and I'll try not to grope her while she's unconscious, I'll try when she's awake." Keitaro cracked a small grin that made everyone feel slightly better.  
  
"See you two tomorrow morning" And with that, the rest of the Hinata girls left the room. Haruka stayed behind a few more minutes to talk with her nephew. She was concerned about him, as all the Hina girls. He didn't seem his usual klutzy self.  
  
"Keitaro, Naru will be fine. You shouldn't cry over her as if she were dead." Haruka placed a hand on her nephew's shoulder, "You should still stay here though, for when she wakes up. You need to explain to her." Keitaro turned to his aunt and nodded his head.  
  
"I'll see you tomorrow with the rest of the girls in tow; hopefully Naru will be conscious again." Haruka turned around and left, still chewing on the butt of her cigarette.  
  
Naru, of course, in her disembodied state, watched and listened to everything. All she wanted to do was escape from the voices in her head, taunting her. She wanted to have Keitaro hold her, to be able to bundle her up in his arms and lull her to sleep. Then it struck Naru, how was she going to get back into her body?  
  
A/N:: Kinda weird, I know, not much conversation from most of the girls. Su didn't really say much here, for some reason, I don't really like Su a whole lot. Despite it's extreme suckiness, R&R plz, because if you don't, you shall face unspeakable horrors, and for all you flamers out there. . . .*grabs a fire-proof suit and a military standard napalm-powered flame- thrower* you flame my fic, I hunt you down and introduce you to Mr. Hiccup *pets the flamethrower* mah flamethrower. . .*walks off rambling and mumbling to himself.* 


	2. She Awakes

Disclaimer: I do not own Love Hina; it's characters, places, or plots. I am not making profit from this fiction, merely just expressing my imagination off this manga, which is the property of Ken Akamatsu and TokyoPop.  
  
A/N:: It's taken me a while (since I've been working on my other fics) but I've finally finished chapter two and getting over a massive, MASSIVE writer's block. I hope I didn't leave too many people in suspense. Once again, sorry if it seems ooc and if the 'voices' in Naru's head don't make sense. I'm trying to use Naru's uncertain feelings toward Keitaro work to her disadvantage, so I can afford to have some of the voices not make any sense (I think) oh well, if you have any suggestions, be sure to say so in reviews.  
  
Stop These Voices. . .  
  
Chapter 2: She Awakes  
  
Christmas day passed by painfully slow. Everyone sat around Naru's bed and either watched her or Keitaro intently. No one opened a single gift. Keitaro sat clinging onto both Naru and Liddo-kun, Mutsumi had fainted, Motoko sat drumming her fingers (since she didn't have her sword with her), Shinoubu sat in a chair, hands crossed over her lap, Sarah and Su played a game of blackjack, Haruka was trying to get the fainted Mutsumi to wake up, and Kitsune sat next to Keitaro trying to cheer him up the entire time, which was starting to wear on Keitaro's nerves.  
  
"Come on Keitaro, Naru's goin' to be fine! We should try to spend today happy." Mitsune said, tugging Keitaro's sleeve gently.  
  
"No, I'm staying here until Naru wakes up, and that's final Mitsune!" Keitaro snapped back at the fox lady, causing all the girls to look at him.  
  
"Erm. . .I'm sorry Kitsune, I'd rather stay here with Naru than go somewhere else." He repeated, this time with less irritation directed towards Mitsune.  
  
"Fine, suit yourself Keitaro." Kitsune said and got up, "I need something to drink, and sitting here is kinda. . ." Mitsune never finished the end of her sentence as she left the hospital room slouched over. Mutsumi finally woke up from her fainting spell in the arms of one very relieved Haruka.  
  
"Oh, my, how long was I out this time?" She said, mildly flustered.  
  
"About an hour." Haruka replied, taking the unlit cigarette out of her mouth.  
  
"Urashima is still sitting there?" Mutsumi asked in a rather stupefied voice. This just made Haruka sigh and put the cigarette back in her mouth.  
  
"Yep, he says he's not going to leave until Naru wakes up."  
  
"Oh my, that might be a while won't it?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
Mutsumi hung her head low for a bit and took Mitsune's seat next to Keitaro.  
  
"Urashima, I just have a quick question for you." Mutsumi said bluntly. Keitaro turned and stared at her, blankness in his eyes.  
  
"How do you feel about Naru?" She asked, once again, quite bluntly. The room went silent, and all eyes transfixed on Keitaro, even Mitsune's, who was returning from her unsuccessful stroll to find alcohol.  
  
"Yes Urashima, do tell." Motoko provoked.  
  
Keitaro's face couldn't get any redder at that moment. It looked like his head would explode in a giant fireball. That's when Naru's hand twitched and her eyelids fluttered for a brief second. Keitaro instantly turned his gaze upon Naru.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
'This feeling, what's this warmth in my hand?' Naru thought.  
  
"It's nothing, you might as well just go back to the eternal slumber." A voice in her had called out.  
  
"Yes, it's nothing, go back to your little corner and cry yourself to sleep."  
  
'SHUT UP!' Naru's mind yelled out at the tormenting voices.  
  
"Cry cry cry, go ahead and cry." The voice Naru named "Crybaby" taunted.  
  
"Keitaro hates you Naru, he just acts nice because he needs to tolerate you. He really loves Mutsumi. Every time you hit him, the more he falls in love with Mutsumi. Wow, he must REALLY love Mutsumi then!" The last voice struck a nerve.  
  
'No. . .no, he can't love Mutsumi can he? I thought. . .we. . .NO! NO! NO! NO!'  
  
-===========================================-  
  
"NO!!!" Naru's eyes snapped open as she screamed. Everyone's attention immediately snapped onto Naru. Keitaro almost jumped from his seat when Naru screamed. Mitsune and Motoko were almost immediately by Naru's side. Naru just sat in her bed, panting heavily from her nightmarish experiences.  
  
"Naru, are you okay?" Everyone almost said in complete unison, excluding Sarah, who really didn't care. Naru nodded weakly, her face pale and sweaty. Naru looked around the room to see everyone looking at her intently. She glanced down and found that Keitaro's hands held hers firmly. Several things ran through her mind at once.  
  
'He's. . .holding my hands?.'  
  
"Who cares! He's probably only doing it to look chivalrous in front of the other girls!" A voice rang out.  
  
"Yes! He's just trying to look good in front of MUTSUMI."  
  
'Keitaro's not like that! He wouldn't do such a thing! You're making no sense!' Naru's conscience rang out.  
  
"Really? How would you know?"  
  
"Yes yes, how do you know for sure. You've said it yourself, he's a pervert. . .a baka!"  
  
'But. . .but. . .' Naru's uncertainty got the best of her.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
Keitaro looked into Naru's eyes with an expression of surprise and hurt when she yanked her hands free from his and balled up into a fist.  
  
"Uh. . .I'm sorry Naru! I'm sorry! You looked like you were in so much pain I just. . .I thought that I could share your pain if I. . ." Keitaro lowered his head waiting for the punch. Even though Naru was hospitalized, Keitaro bet that she could still pack a punch. But the punch never came. Keitaro raised his head and saw Naru staring intently at her own fist, as if trying to figure out why she balled it up in the first place. This caused Keitaro to hesitate.  
  
"Naru, are you feeling well?" Haruka repeated herself after seeing Naru jerk away from Keitaro, rather unexpectedly since Naru seemed to have a nice expression planted on her face when Keitaro was holding her hand.  
  
"I'm . . . not sure, what happened?" She asked hesitantly.  
  
"You. . .were hit by a car Christmas eve." Keitaro responded weakly before anyone else could answer. His eyes were transfixed to the ground so no one could see the pained expression on his face.  
  
"Hit. . .by a car. . .?" The memories started to float back to Naru's mind. She saw Keitaro kissing Mutsumi. The most painful memory from 'The Night' was when she told Keitaro goodbye. Of course, her conscious was not spared by the constant commentary from the voices in her head.  
  
"Naru? Naru?" Naru snapped out from her mild nightmare thanks to Mitsune shaking her rather violently while the others were telling her to stop shaking Naru so hard.  
  
"Sorry, my head still kind of hurts and. . ."She drawled off again while talking, a distant look in her eyes.  
  
"We should go, Naru needs her rest. . ." Motoko said out loud to everyone, ". . . Including you Urashima." She glared at him with the last part of her statement.  
  
"But. . .but I want to . . ." Keitaro started stammering but was cut off by Naru.  
  
"Keitaro, everyone, I agree with Motoko. . .can you please leave?" Naru stated weakly as she closed her eyes again.  
  
"Naru sempai?" Shinoubu asked.  
  
"Yes Shinoubu. . .?" Naru replied even weaker than before, as if each second she stayed awake was draining the life from her.  
  
"Will you be. . .okay without us here?" Shinoubu asked lightly, glancing from a very depressed looking Keitaro to a very exhausted Naru. Naru only nodded her head weakly and put a hand on her forehead, making it obvious she was developing a headache.  
  
"Well, you heard her, let's leave already! We still got gifts sitting back home for us to open!" Sarah shouted anxiously, causing everyone to shush her, "Sheesh, sorry." Sarah said, lighter than before as she kicked an imaginary pebble. Everyone started filing out, Haruka and Keitaro the last to leave. Keitaro didn't want to leave Naru alone in the hospital, something had trigged the "overprotective" instinct in his mind and Haruka had to negotiate with a rather stubborn Keitaro to get him to leave.  
  
"Tomorrow morning, I swear we'll come back tomorrow morning to see her Keitaro, Naru needs her rest." Haruka repeated one last time before she was tempted to smack Keitaro upside the head and drag him back to the inn.  
  
"But . . . She's still in pain and I . . . Haruka let me go!" Keitaro was slowly being dragged by the collar of his shirt by Haruka.  
  
"We'll come back Keitaro, Naru isn't just going to die overnight if you're not there."  
  
"But . . . but . . ." Keitaro gave up and hung his head, forcing Haruka to drag him all the way back to the inn. Before being dragged from the room totally, Keitaro gave Naru one last fleeting glance and tossed Liddo-kun to her. Miraculously, it landed right next to her.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
'I should have hit that pervert for holding my hand like that. . .' Naru's conscious "said" out loud.  
  
"Yes yes, should have punched that baka into the next dimension! Kill that baka so he'll never try anything perverted on you!" the voice of Naru's "angry" side rang out  
  
'Kill Keitaro? No, I can't do anything like that. . .he's not perverted enough to deserve that. . .besides he's, a sweet guy. . ." Naru's conscious replied lightly, as if the comment about killing Keitaro wasn't such a big deal. Definitely not the reaction the angry side of Naru was looking for.  
  
"Sweet? Sweet huh? What about all those times you've caught him spying on the girls, all the time's he's fondled Kitsune and Mutsumi. All those times trying to grope you! He deserves justice! Think like Motoko. . ." Think like Motoko? Naru's conscious would have "laughed" if it was corporeal. Instead, her conscious found it amusing.  
  
'I can't believe I'm talking to my own mind. . .'  
  
"Hmm well believe it, because we'll be here a while."  
  
'We? We who?' Naru's conscious started becoming confused. Suddenly, an outburst of voices in several different tones rang in her mind. The conscious of Naru started finding itself overwhelmed and backed into a black corner of Naru's mind.  
  
"Cry cry little girl! The boy you love doesn't love you back!"  
  
"He's a baka and you know it, just let go of him!"  
  
"Kill him instead! Kill him and hide his body in the springs!"  
  
"Or kill yourself, get this all over with! No one cares for you! No one wants you around! Keitaro hates you! Kitsune claims to be your best friend but will sell you out in a heartbeat! Shinobou will snatch up Keitaro if given the chance. Motoko only thinks of herself. Su doesn't care for you, she lives off in gag a land, you could be dieing painfully and she'd never notice! Mutsumi is your rival for Keitaro, she'll never help you! Just take that gun hidden in . . ."  
  
'SHUT UP!!!' Naru's conscious interrupted the seemingly senseless ramblings of the "suicidal tendency" voice, ' Just, leave me alone! Go away! I just want to be able to think without these voices. . .'  
  
"What's the matter, can't take the truth?" Another voice jumped at the opportunity to torment Naru's conscious. Her conscious sat cowering in the corner, 'Keitaro. . .please, stop these voices. . .'  
  
End Chapter  
  
A/N:: Once again I apologize for stalling on this fic. I had a bad case of writers block and just wasn't in the mood to write this fic. In a way, I still have a writers block, but I managed to shove it aside to finish this chapter. R&R plz so I can work on this more, point out anything I need to work on, but If you flame I'll . . . *pulls out a chainsaw and fires it up, then puts a white hokey mask on* . . .chop down a tree near your house and let it fall on it! BWAHAHAH! *ahem* anyway, I also apologize for anything cliché, I'm striving to avoid using clichés (like the ending of this chapter) *cough cough, falls on the ground hacking and coughing* erm. . . ahem well, that's it, done rambling, off to start chapter three when Naru returns to Hinata and REALLY starts emotionally hurting Keitaro (not the wimpy little thing she caused just by tugging her hand away). *trots off* Sayonara! 


	3. What's His Issue?

Disclaimer: Yep, one of these every chapter. Don't own Love Hina, any of its characters, and all that stuff, nor am I making profit from this garbage I write. That all belongs to Ken Akamatsu and Tokyo Pop.  
  
A/N:: I'm so sorry everyone who is reading this. Totally my bad but I've been putting off all of my works no longer! Least I hope I won't. Thanks to those whom are still sticking with me on this fic, and thanks to those who have bothered to read this. Been having some errr...social problems to deal with and not to mention a massive writers block and constant strive to overachieve on chapters I did crappy on. So just keep the constructive criticism going please, and no flames.  
  
**Stop These Voices. . .  
  
Chapter 3: What's His Issue?**  
  
Everyone in the Hinata inn was down. Not because Naru was in the hospital, but because Keitaro was down. For some reason, Keitaro just emanated an aura of depression that affected everyone, even the thick-skulled Mutsumi. Keitaro sat in his room silently, blaming himself for Naru's current condition.  
  
'Why did I kiss Mutsumi!? Why must you do this to me god!? Why why why. . .' Keitaro slammed his head down onto his desk, ignoring the pain in his forehead, 'Naru would have never gotten hit by that car if she never ran away . . . and she wouldn't have ran if I didn't kiss Mutsumi!' Keitaro's mind was like a broken record, it kept skipping back to when he saw Naru struck by the car. His mind was doomed to stay on an endless replay of that night. Over the course of the evening, many of the Hinata members tried their best to cheer him up. Even Motoko attempted to find some way to cheer up the depressed Keitaro. No one succeeded though, and they all went back into a depressed stupor that engulfed the entire building. There came a knock at Keitaro's door later during the evening. At first, Keitaro didn't answer, but the knocking still commenced.  
  
"Go away. . .stop bothering." Keitaro mumbled, expecting one of the girls to come in and try and cheer him up.  
  
"Urashima I just want to talk, that's all." Mutsumi's soft voice came from the other side of the door. For some reason, Keitaro got up and opened his door for Mutsumi, who walked in and took a seat on his futon.  
  
"Urashima you never answered my question about Narusegawa." She said, looking right at him.  
  
"Mutsumi, I don't really want to talk about Nar. . ." Keitaro was cut off by Mutsumi, which was very uncharacteristic for her.  
  
"Urashima, you're tearing yourself apart, I can see it. Just tell me how you feel about Narusegawa. Perhaps that will ease some of your pain?" Mutsumi made it obvious she wasn't just going to give up and leave.  
  
". . ." Keitaro closed his eyes and thought, and deeply. The first time he met Narusegawa was in the hot springs . . . and it wasn't a very pretty encounter. He recalled the trip they took to Kyoto, the printclub photos he had of both he and Narusegawa, their first "date", his near kisses with her every so often. . . only one distinct word described Keitaro's feelings for his violent and stubborn counterpart.  
  
"I love her. . ." He mumbled, nearly inaudible. Mutsumi only nodded.  
  
"It shows, Urashima." Mutsumi smiled warmly at him. Keitaro had to admit, Mutsumi's smile did cheer him up a bit, "Urashima, you really should stick by Narusegawa, whatever happens with her, whatever her reaction is towards you, good or bad, stick with her, and love her." Keitaro was mildly stunned to hear such wise words coming from Mutsumi. He sat there at his desk, mouth agape staring at Mutsumi. She just smiled back at him.  
  
"Oh my. . .look at the time, I really must be going Urashima, remember what I said about Narusegawa, because if you really do love her, you'll stick by her forever, even if she doesn't realize you love her, or if she loves you back, but I have a feeling that she does." Mutsumi started heading out the door, "Oh, I almost forgot Urashima! Here is the picture Narusegawa dropped." Mutsumi handed the picture over to Keitaro and left. Keitaro just stared at the picture again. He couldn't help but get a churning feeling in his stomach looking at the picture. Keitaro couldn't help the feeling that Mutsumi was his promised girl, a lot of evidence pointed to that . . . but he loved Naru. Keitaro gripped his head and rested it on his desk. Keitaro couldn't help but wonder what was going through Naru's mind, or what her feelings for him were. There were those brief seconds where Naru showed a more sensitive side that Keitaro learned to treasure, because he knew that after those brief few seconds, Naru would be back to her usual brash and violent self. Mutsumi was always there for him, though, and she does love him, but Mutsumi just want Keitaro to be happy. Keitaro's mind was becoming even more jumbled at that moment, not being able to choose from Naru or Mutsumi. He had developed feelings for Naru, strong ones at that . . . but his promise girl was Mutsumi.  
  
"What am I thinking!? I love Naru, okay, I LOVE NARU!" Keitaro shouted at the top of his lungs, causing all the resident girls to hear him and rush to his door. They were all about to barge in, but Kitsune blocked the door, saying they best listen in, since Keitaro did have a tendency to think aloud anyway. In all due time they'd find out what he was thinking.  
  
"But . . . If I choose Naru, I'll be taking back my promise to Mutsumi, wouldn't I?" Keitaro sighed, thumping his head down hard onto the floor, "But how does Naru feel about me . . . other than me being a worthless baka who can't even study for his entrance exams alone. Or a lech who only wants to feel up every girl in the dorm. Or some serial rapist! Oh wait, well, she never said that about me yet. . .but she might some day if given the chance . . . Ah! Why am I thinking about this in the first place? I should listen to Mutsumi . . . She seemed fine with me loving Naru than her . . . but Mutsumi is my promised girl! GAH! I need to keep my promise . . . don't I?" Keitaro dropped his head onto the ground for one final time, making a loud thud resonate through the apartment. He knew the inhabitants were all listening in, was only typical. Hell, something would be seriously wrong if they DIDN'T listen to him think out loud. Kitsune stepped away from Keitaro's door for a second to contemplate. She knew Keitaro was quite fragile emotionally and that he'd held Naru close to his heart for quite some time, especially during the "Seta incident" when Keitaro was, perhaps, at the lowest point emotionally. Kitsune was also one of the few people to see how hurt Keitaro was when Naru had yanked her hand from his, as if he'd been rejected by her. As much as Keitaro could mask how he was really feeling, it wouldn't get by Kitsune. For once, she was truly concerned for both her friends. 'Maybe Keitaro was overreacting . . . I mean, Naru was probably embarrassed that Keitaro was holding her hand in front of all of us. She's always like that when they get lovey-dovey in public . . . something just doesn't seem right though. He shouldn't be all depressed about that, it's happened before. Could it be something that happened before Naru got hit? That's probably it . . . He had mentioned Mutsumi. . .'

-===========================================-

Everyone stared at Kitsune intently as she sat and thought. Even Su managed to hold still long enough to glare at Kitsune. It was like everyone was awaiting orders from her. At that exact moment, Keitaro opened his door and almost ran into everyone, since they were all piled up in the hallway directly in front of his door.  
  
"Guys, what are you doing in front of my room?" He asked, more confused than depressed at the moment.  
  
"Sempai we were all worried so we came to um . . . see if you were okay!" Shinobou said quickly, covering for everyone. Everyone but Motoko and Sarah silently nodded.  
  
"I'm fine guys, don't worry about me okay?" He forced a smile and trudged off down the hall, trying to seem like he was normal, but couldn't. Rather than dragging his feet along, he made a futile attempt to actually walk, which turned out looking rather awkward, so he just chose to shuffle the rest of the way to his "contemplating spot" on the roof.  
  
"There is defiantly something wrong with the dork." Sarah chimed in, breaking the silence pointing her thumb back at Keitaro.  
  
"Yeah, Keitaro isn't being hisself!" Su broke from her stupor. Motoko and Kitsune remained silent and Shinobou watched Keitaro's retreating form.  
  
"I don't get it . . . There's no reason for Keitaro to be this depressed is there?" Shinobou turned to Kitsune, who was still thinking, trying to divide up different theories and ideas in her mind.  
  
"No, there isn't, but there's something." Kitsune said quietly, still thinking, trying to sort out what was going on inside of Keitaro's mostly absent mind. Shinobou gave Kitsune a slightly puzzled look, not understanding fully what she just said.  
  
"Kitsune means that Urashima is overreacting about something obviously stupid" Motoko said to Shinobou.  
  
"No no no . . . If you're thinking of the holding hand thing in the hospital, that's not it . . . this is probably something involving Mutsumi." Kitsune said, waving her hand to quite Motoko's assumption.  
  
"Mutsumi left a while ago too, and I saw her come from Sempai's room." Shinobou sounded nervous. Usually Kitsune's brain would register it a perfect time for a witty comment, but it never came. Shinobou's "testimony" just puzzled Kitsune more. All she could assume though, was that Mutsumi was defiantly a large part of what was going on.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
'Mutsumi, or Naru, Mutsumi, or Naru . . .' Keitaro thought to himself, staring off into the sky while sitting on the roof. There was something about Mutsumi that just seemed so familiar . . . like he had known her previously . . . which just made it more possible that she was the promise girl. Naru, on the other hand, there was just something about her. Sure, he had been bewitched by her beauty when he had first come to Hinata House, but after a while, he got to know her, and she slowly opened up. Sure, at first glance she was stubborn, arrogant, violent, and naïve, but Keitaro had learned to see past those traits to the real Naru. She really was a nice girl, caring, smart, proud, sweet, cute . . . she just didn't want it to be known that she was that way, so she covered up with a violent attitude and quick judgment. Those rare few moments that Keitaro got to spend with her when she wasn't beating the crap out of him were absolute bliss. Being able to see the real Naru for even a brief second was enough to make Keitaro feel like he had known her forever, even though it was only two years since he had come to Hina. It was like he had known Naru for all his life. It hurt him to see her crying, it made him happy when she smiled . . . Keitaro knew it could only be love, absolute, utter love for the girl who repeatedly decked him for tripping accidentally, yelled at him for being stubborn, and got the harem's lynch mob assembled to beat the crap out of him. 'But what about my promise girl . . . I can't love two people at once . . . can I? No! It's not right! Naru . . . even if you're not my promise girl . . . '  
  
Keitaro was knocked from his thoughts when a flying-kick came in contact with the back of his skull, knocking him off the roof.  
  
"Ewe, I think I put too much power into that kick." Su said from atop the roof, looking down at Keitaro plastered to the ground.  
  
"Oi Keitaro! What's makin' you all down? You didn't want to play today, and it's a Merry Present!" Su exclaimed again, trying to get a reaction from Keitaro. "I'm just not in the mood Su, and now thanks to you I have to recover from several broken bones." Keitaro said with a groan, getting up to his feet and dusting his pants off.  
  
"Awww but you're immortal Keitaro! You've never broken a bone before during my experiments!" Su yelled back down, but got no response from Keitaro as he walked back into the dorm. Seeing this, Su felt like all the energy was drained right out of her. Silently she walked back to her room, brushing past Motoko and Kitsune who were talking in the hall. Quietly she shut her door. This caught Motoko's attention.  
  
"Was Su actually WALKING to her room?" Motoko changed the subject.  
  
"Looked like it, and come to think of it, she didn't slam her door like she usually does." Kitsune responded, looking curiously over at the door leading to Su's jungle-room, "Something is defiantly going on." She added.  
  
"Yes, it's quite unsettling if you ask me . . ." Motoko's voice faded off.  
  
-===========================================-  
  
Naru sat and stared blankly at the bag Keitaro left on the table next to her bed. It was addressed to her from Keitaro. Inside her mind, it was a war zone. Voices telling her to tear up the bag and it's contents, burn it, smash it, anything to get rid of it, other voices telling her to open it, see what Keitaro had gotten her, and treasure it for life, and a few were even saying just leave it alone, forget that the present even existed. Naru started to reach for the bag, her hand trembling. She abruptly stopped in mid-reach for a few moments, gazing at the bag before finally snatching it up and peeking inside. There was a card among much of the paper stuffing. Naru pulled the card out and tore open the envelope. Inside was a card shaped like a small angel. She gazed at the card, once again her mind racing for no reason. With determination she opened the card and read it.  
  
"Here's a little angel to watch over you during this special day, Merry Christmas! Naru, best of wishes for this years Christmas. I just know that we can both make Tokyo U this year! Merry Christmas Naru, I hope you like your present. –Keitaro"  
  
Naru kept reading over it to the point where she lost count. Absentmindedly she threw the card to the side and dove into the bag, pulling out a lush red coat, much better than the one she was wearing the previous night.  
  
"Tear it up! Burn it! Throw it away! Feed it to dogs!" A voice chimed in from somewhere.  
  
'I . . . I don't want . . . to . . . I like it', her conscious sounded feeble  
  
"Yes yes, it's a nice coat." A smaller voice joined it.  
  
"Who cares, it's from that baka, burn it! He's just trying to bribe you!" The voice retaliated.  
  
Naru's hands trembled again. She was on the verge of tearing it to shreds but instead she wound up crying into the coat, cradling it as if it were her child. She stroked the coat over and over.  
  
"Keitaro . . . Keitaro you . . . baka . . . "she mumbled. The nurse who came in to check on Naru was both puzzled and worried for the girl when she saw Naru stroking a red coat murmuring a name.  
  
"Ma'am are you alright?" The nurse asked in a calm, caring voice. All she got in response was a death-glare from Naru, which caused her to take a step back.  
  
"Yes, I am quite alright, thank you for your concern. And Merry Christmas to you." Naru oddly replied in a normal, non-enraged voice, which REALLY threw the nurse off. Shakily the nurse left the room, eyeing Naru the whole time while she sat upright in the hospital bed, still murmuring Keitaro's name.  
  
"Such a nice coat, such a nice coat." A wee voice in the back of Naru's mind spoke up.  
  
"Yes yes! And from Keitaro. See he does care! He does he does he does!" The previous voice chimed in, sounding oddly like Su.  
  
"No he doesn't! He's just trying to get you off guard! He wants you to be comfy around him so that he can turn around rape you before you can react!" The defiant voice yelled out.  
  
"No no no, Keitaro is not like that. Baka yes, rapist no. He won't have the guts to do that!"  
  
"What if does and is just acting like a spineless dweeb who can barely pass high school?"  
  
"That's kind of hard to fake, we're talking about Keitaro here!"  
  
"Such a nice coat . . . "  
  
"Will you shut up, it's just a coat! It's not a sign of affection, just a gift!"  
  
"But it's a nice coat . . . so nice and pretty . . ."  
  
Soon Naru's head exploded in a riot. Voices erupted into her skull, all arguing over the one guy that she denied having any remote feelings for. Naru slumped back into a laying position gripping her head as if in severe pain. A few hours after the argument in her head had ended, she drifted off into a nightmarish sleep.  
  
End Chapter  
  
A/N:: Neh, sorry if anything seems off, really, I am sorry. It's summer and stuff and my brain is slowly turning back into a vegetable. Riko, I'd just like to take the time to say that I appreciate you taking the time to proofread my chapters . . . but please do a better job on the next ones k? Erm . . . anyways sorry for such a long delay, I'll try to get the next chapter up quicker than it took to put this one up. I've been doing other work on my other Fic so I kinda delayed on this one and was being a insert random lazy-bastad-related comment here for about a month during and after finals, so please forgive me. R&R otherwise I got nothing to work on! Help me strive to make a better fic! Oh, and about that little teaser in the ending A/N, that was a Lie, that'll be coming up in 4 or 5, I swear! It'll get darker in the later chapters, so bear with me and the weird little conversation Naru has with her head. Anyways, need to get some sleep and such, then work on some things. Sayonara!


End file.
